Waitrose Introduces Watermelon Beer

The beer is named ‘Mr Smith Gose to…’ after the well-known 1939 Frank Capra film ‘Mr Smith Goes to Washington’ and is made with Mello Watermelon Juice. It will be available in Waitrose shops from mid November.

The Great British Homebrew Challenge, now in its fourth year, sets out to find the best home-brewed beer in the country. The winning recipe, chosen by a panel of experts including Thornbridge’s Head Brewer, Rob Lovatt, and Waitrose Buying Manager, Jamie Matthewson, is brewed by Thornbridge and will be sold at Waitrose shops across the country.

This year, the winning beer was made by Stoke Newington resident Josh, 32, who has been brewing at home for five years.

‘The beer was inspired by a watermelon, feta and mint salad recipe I really like. Watermelon works so well with salty flavours and I naturally made the connection to Gose – a sour and salty beer. I had tried Mello watermelon juice from Waitrose and was impressed by how much flavour it had, so used that in my beer. I’m so excited for Waitrose customers to try it, as I think it’s quite unusual. This beer can be made into Mexican inspired cocktails too, like Michelada, and is also delicious mixed with tequila and lime.’

Rob Lovatt, Head Brewer at Thornbridge, says: ‘Josh’s beer really stood out amongst very strong competition in the final judging stage, with the level of quality instantly shining through. We have been brewing quite a few sour beers recently, but not yet with watermelon, so this will be a very interesting one for us to make.’

Jamie Matthewson says: ‘I always look forward to judging on this panel, as the beers created in this country by people in their kitchens and sheds are always so innovative and fun. This beer is no exception and is the first watermelon beer we’ve launched.’